Malphite
Master Tier Champion Guide
Identity
Malphite is the quintessential engage tank, a literal mountain of a champion whose value lies in his straightforward, high-impact kit. You should play Malphite if you want to focus less on complex mechanics and more on mastering the fundamentals of League of Legends—macro play, map awareness, and timing. His ability to neutralize even the most difficult lanes means he's rarely irrelevant, and his ultimate, Unstoppable Force, is one of the most game-changing abilities in League. Malphite is the perfect champion for players who want to learn the tank role and understand how to win games through decisive, team-wide engages, providing a solid foundation of skills that are transferable to any champion in the game.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
Has one of the most threatening ultimates (Unstoppable Force) in the game, enabling powerful hard engage for the team.
Strong team fighter and front line who remains very useful even if he goes even or loses lane.
Excellent neutralizer, capable of winning short trades by combining his passive shield, W enhanced range, and Q movement speed.
Weaknesses
Very weak pre-Level 6 and is easily punished by early pressure junglers (
E.g., Rek'Sai, Lee Sin).No natural escape or gap closer (apart from R), making his approach linear and predictable if he doesn't use Flash.
Outscaled in the side lane eventually by strong split-push champions (
E.g., Fiora, Jax, Camille), making late-game 1v1s difficult.
Laning Phase
Malphite's laning phase is highly matchup specific but typically focuses on surviving early and securing advantages through short trades and W range.
Bad Matchups
In non-interactive or difficult lanes (
E.g., Volibear, Darius), take First Strike with the intention of scaling. Look to ping-pong the waves back and forth until you get your ultimate.
Early Safety
Be comfortable with going even or neutralizing your lane opponent. Avoid early skirmishes or invades, as Level 1 Malphite is so weak and loses to a lot of champions.
Trading Flashes
It is often highly valuable to trade flashes with your lane opponent early. This makes them extremely vulnerable to ganks when you hit Level 6, and you can always ult away if you get ganked.
Mana Conservation
Early game, only use Q around your Comet's cooldown to maximize damage per mana point. Spamming Q at Level 1 will cause you to run out of mana quickly.
Punish Movement
Use your
Q movement speed to capitalize on enemy mistakes (E.g., if they use an important mobility spell like Jayce's Q/E).
Short Trading (Grasp)
Against melee champions, look for short trades. When the enemy goes to last hit, use W for enhanced attack range to proc Grasp at the same time, then walk away. If they jump onto you, immediately use E (slows AS) and Q to run off, making it very hard for them to retaliate.
Team Fighting & Macro
Macro Strategy
Mid-Game Go Button
When Tower plates fall (14 minutes), that is your 'Go Button' to start impacting the map.
Wave Resetting
Your job in the side lane is not to pressure the enemy top laner. Instead, you must reset your side wave back to even or one wave past even before an objective spawns (E.g., Dragon or Baron).
Grouping Discipline
After resetting the wave, group with your team to force an engagement, then immediately reset and go back to the side lane once your job is done.
Timely Presence
Strongly recommend being at a fight on time. Do not catch the side wave and then attempt to Teleport in, as the fight may be decided before you arrive.
Forcing Baron
The main way to close out games is by forcing an early Baron situation around two items (20 minutes). At this point, Malphite's team fighting strength is often at its highest relative to strong side-laning champions (like Fiora or Jax), who are not yet fully geared for 5v5s.
Team Fighting
Hold Your Ultimate (R)
This is the most important takeaway. The threat of a Malphite ultimate is often more dangerous than the ultimate itself. If the enemy backline is not participating, you are already doing your job; wait for them to misposition or step up aggressively, and then strike.
Target Prioritization
Tag the prior targets. Do not waste R on a low-threat target (E.g., an unthreatening Caitlyn) when a high-carry threat (e.g., Vex) is still active.
R Follow-up
Time your ultimate for when your team can actually follow up.
E Timing
It is often better to use E (Ground Slam) at the end of your knockup duration (after they hit the ground) so that the attack speed slow is not wasted during the ultimate's CC.
Runes
Grasp of the Undying
Most tank matchups and melee matchups (e.g., Fiora, Renekton). Goal: Short, winning trades and lane sustain. Synergizes well with W's enhanced attack range; use Demolish and Overgrowth. Often paired with Inspiration secondary (Cookies, Cosmic Insight).
Arcane Comet
Range matchups (e.g., Jayce, Kennen) where the damage will make a difference. Goal: Sustained poke damage and kill threat. Max Q first. Use Manaflow Band, Transcendence, and Scorch. Manaflow Band and Cookies are needed due to high Q mana costs.
First Strike
Matchups where Comet poke is ineffective (due to Doran's Shield/Second Wind) and you cannot win Grasp trades (e.g., Volibear, Darius). Goal: Scaling and Gold Generation. Secondary is Domination (Taste of Blood for sustain, Ultimate Hunter for lower R cooldown). Takes double Adaptive Force due to Q trading.
Press the Attack (PTA)
Matchups where you can win the extended all-in (e.g., Yasuo, Irelia, Sylas). Goal: Win extended duels by maximizing W damage and reducing enemy Attack Speed (AS). Max W first. Use Presence of Mind (for mana) and Coup de Grace (for burst finish).
Summon Aery
Situational against Ranged Champions who can dodge Comet (e.g., Kennen E, Jayce Hammer Form Q). Goal: Reliable but lower poke damage. Not recommended in ELO brackets lower than Diamond, as lower ELO players often don't dodge Comet.
Key Combos
Grasp Proc Trade
WWalk up when the enemy is last hitting. The W acts as an auto attack reset to maximize DPS, and the range boost helps proc Grasp safely.
Punish All-in/Disengage
EQEnemy Jumps onto you → E (Attack Speed Slow) → Q (Movement Speed Steal) → Run Off.
Ultimate and Follow-up
RQWEUse E after the knockup ends for maximum attack speed slow duration.
Flash R (Reliable Engage)
RUse Flash → R instantly when in close range. It is a lot harder for enemies to react to than a long-range R cast. Use Flash R when already within your R's normal range for the quick cast.
Tips & Tricks
Abilities
QMid-game, you should end your wave clear with Q to maximize the movement speed boost. Q the final minion as you are running away to travel around the map faster.
You can use Q on an enemy champion and run away before the Q projectile hits them; the enemy minions will not turn onto you.
- Q has an uncancellable windup, allowing you to use Q → Flash or cast Q while stunned.
W- W is an auto attack reset. Use it instantly after an auto attack (Auto → W) to maximize your DPS.
RIf you cast R halfway through a wall, it will push you through the other side, resulting in a faster ultimate speed. This is especially effective when controlling the river chokes.
Item Synergies
Starting Item
Take Doran's Ring in matchups where Q poke matters (E.g., Kennen, Gankplank). Take Doran's Shield in Grasp matchups where you rely on short trades or against heavy poke.
Recall Timing
You should avoid trying to execute (die to turrets/camps) past Level 6 because your death timer becomes longer than your recall timer.
Baron Phase
Before Baron is up, push the side wave (E.g., bot wave) to be even or reset, then immediately run to Baron to force the objective.
Holding R
If you commit to a team fight and use yourR, you must register when the fight is done and base as fast as you can to maintain tempo. Hanging around after blowing your R can leave you stuck in the side lane later.
Level 1 Position
Do not leash or lane invade. You need to be in lane Level 1 as the minion wave is coming in to secure your position and XP.